Fire Fuels Fire
by Phiametta
Summary: Before the Earth Kingdom soldiers had captured General Iroh, they already had another Firebender in custody. And she has a temper that rivals her fathers. What will happen when Zuko finds out her secret? Zuko OC
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hey all, this is going to be my first Avatar fanfiction. But I hope you all like it!

D: Unfortunately I don't own anything but my OC.

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It wasn't easy being Captain Zhao's daughter. He was an arrogant, self-centered, evil, power-hungry maniac. And a poor excuse for a father. For the first few years of her life, he was hardly around. He was always sailing the seas, looking for opportunities to boost his reputation and his rank.

That left Lily and her mother in the Fire Nation to fend for themselves. Lily's mother, Rose, was a fire bending teacher. She was hired by families of all kinds to teach their little ones the basics of fire bending. She taught the early bloomers who needed the instruction and weren't old enough for elementary school.

But Lily's mother became ill. The healers could do nothing to cure her. They could only keep her comfortable. When Rose could no longer get out of bed she wrote a letter to Zhao, asking him to come home. But didn't say why.

Lily was surprised when he did almost a week later, and he was almost too late. Lily's mother died that night, being held by her husband. If there was something that Zhao loved other than his reputation, it was his wife. They were childhood friends, and as they grew older they became closer. Zhao proposed at the young age of seventeen, before his military career started. But once he enlisted, he became a different person.

Lily was only ten years old when her mother died. Her father took leave from his ship for a couple weeks. Arranging his wife's funeral was…well something he hadn't expected to be doing. And he sold their home. Barely speaking a work to his daughter about any of it. This made Lily mad.

Her father rarely acknowledged her when his wife was alive. He made it clear that he wanted a son instead of Lily.

Lily tried her best to please him when she was younger. She did well in school, and did even better with her firebending. She was the best bender in her grade. Even after all the success she had, Zhao still could care less. As Lily grew older, she stopped trying to impress him. But now she was stuck with him, for good.

After he sold the house, she was forced to travel with him on his ship. Lily had a lot of down time and became bored out of her mind. The only thing she had to do was practice her firebending. She started off with sparring with the crew, and within months she could easily win against any of them. That's when Zhao started to duel against her. And he didn't take it easy on her.

Zhao thought he was a master firebender. But he was fighting against a ten year old. And he treated her like she was one of his crew. Unforgiving and cruel. She received plenty of burns from him, and had to treat and heal them herself. It was like he wasn't even her father. Just the Captain of a ship.

When she wasn't firebending Lily was cleaning or helping the chef. Cooking with the chef was probably the only part of her day that she enjoyed. The chef was a kind old man who had lost his wife to illness and his sons to the war. His entire family was taken from him. And he was the closest thing Lily had to a real father. Zhao still rarely spoke to her. The only words that were directed to her were insults when they were dueling. And lately, she had doing very well. So her father wasn't saying much of anything.

But the chef told her stories of how he met his wife, and tales of the adventures he and his boys went on when they were young.

* * *

Lily spent four years on her father's ship. And she had enough. The next time they made port, she planned to run away.

Her father let her off the ship whenever they docked the ship for supplies. He would give her a few coins to spend on whatever she pleased, but she had to help with the supplies the ship needed. And that was it, when the crew would spend time in the local bars she had to go back to the ship, alone.

But not this time. They docked the ship in a town she had never been to. Lily had packed the little belongings that she had and waited for most of the crew to leave the ship. Lately she had also been saving up the coins her father had been giving her and had them all in a small puch she had tied to her belt.

When the coast was clear, she snuck off the ship. Narrowly missing her father who was still aboard and was in his office with the door wide open. Her frantically beating heart finally calmed down when she had successfully made it to the woods. She was finally free.

Honestly, Lily had thought it would have been way easier for a young teenage girl to survive on her own and it didn't help that she was a firebender. Her dads' ship was in the Harbor for a day longer then scheduled. He had sent all the crew out to search for her for hours. She could only imagine how pissed he most definitely was. The thought made her smirk.

But the ship left, and when it was finally out of sight, she wandered the town on her own.

She was surprised at the amount of dirty look she received. Normally when she was with the other firebenders, they backed away in fear.

Lily glanced down at what she was wearing, Fire Nation colors and quickly realized that she needed new clothing. Her fire nation colors would only attract attention and trouble. She walked into a small clothing store and picked the dullest colors she could find. They were a sand colored short sleeved top and black pants.

Her new clothes cost her just about half of her saved money. The rest of it was spent within a week.

* * *

Two years, Lily had been on her own, for two whole years. She had to steal more then she would like to, work was almost nonexistent. Thus, most of her clothing was stolen, along with a fair portion of her supplies. Lily was pretty good about getting her own food though, no stealing necessary.

But because she had stolen so much, Lily couldn't stay in one town for long. She was quickly gaining wanted signs, the signal it was time for her to leave.

Then the wanted signs started showing up in towns she had just arrived at, she was definitely in trouble now. But in her mind, it was worth it. She hadn't known what true freedom was until now. And she would never give it up.

Lily had bought a tent with the remainder of her money, and it was the smartest thing she bought. She could keep herself warm easily with her bending but there was nothing worse than sleeping in the rain. And if the weather was too much for her tent, she had found a couple of caves wandering the land.

In the early mornings just as the sun was rising Lily would practice her firebending. It was the safest time of day to do so. Everyone was still sleeping, and if she did it at night, someone would most likely catch her. Obviously she didn't want that so early mornings were the perfect time. Like most firebenders, she was up when the sun came up, so it worked out well for her.

Unfortunately there were incidents when she was caught stealing, and jailed for brief periods of time. But she told the same made-up story to all of her captors, that her mom was from the earth nation colonies and her father was a fire nation soldier (she needed an excuse for her golden eyes) and that she had run away after her father had accidentally killer her mother after a fight between the two. That and flashing her big puppy eyes and brilliant white smile had gotten her off the hook more than a handful of times. She had been told her eyes and smile were her best traits, both had been passed down from her mother.

But living on the sea and then on her own had hardened her mind and body. Not that she was soft and weak before. And her short temper was the same, maybe worse now, she definitely had gotten _that_ from her father.

* * *

At the present time, Lily was running from some Earth Kingdom soldiers who had been on her trail for a while now. They were trying to arrest her because she had stolen a couple of weapons from one of their camps a few weeks back. Unfortunately, they had been awake and saw her. It _had_ been a few days since she had seen or heard them though, hopefully they had given up.

But she was wrong.

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	2. Chapter 2

AN: Sorry about the wait guys, I've been camping for the past couple of days. And you know what that means? No wifi. I'd like to thank all of those who took the time to review, you are the BEST!

D: I only own my OC

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It was dark out and she didn't dare bend light from her palm. The soldiers were near and Lily was currently hiding in a very small…it wasn't even a cave. It was just a small indentation she had found several weeks ago. She had heard the soldier pass by her twice and she was waiting until she thought it was safe to leave. But it became dark before that, so she got as comfortable as she could before she would try to sleep.

"I think we lost her." One of them said.

"I can't see my own hand in front of my face, there's no way we will find her tonight." Someone else complained.

"Alright, let's head back to camp." She listened as the footsteps faded away.

Lily fell asleep quickly after they left to the sound of wind rustling the leaves.

* * *

The firebender was startled awake when she heard rustling in a nearby bush. What the hell was that?

"Sir, I've found something." Lily shot up from the ground, tense and ready for anything. Listening closely. They were very close. Should she run for it? What other choice did she have? If she stayed where she was, they would most likely find her. The sun was just rising, and they would surely see her. And she would be trapped. Running was her best option.

She listened and cautiously poked her head out from its hiding place and looked around the trees, she couldn't see them. So she sprinted, trying to run as quickly and quietly as possible.

"Hey! Stop her!" Crap. She tried to run faster. She wove between the trees trying to dodge their blasts of rock at her. But they were taller, faster and quickly gaining on her. Then, of course, she tripped. Lily wasn't the most graceful person in the world…she was probably one of the clumsiest.

This isn't my day, she thought to herself. The earthbenders had caught up before she could pick herself back up. They bound her wrists and brought her back to their ostrich-horses.

"Thought you could run from us forever?" Lily didn't respond. The soldier who cuffed her wrist had secured her to a tree. They had brought her back to their makeshift camp.

Tying her to a tree probably wasn't the best idea on their part. They must not know she was a firebender. But there were too many of them at the camp for her to try to escape. She was stuck with them for the time being.

* * *

Lily was tied to the tree until the soldiers had started to pack up camp to move on when a soldier came running into the camp. "Sir, one of the scouts found someone by the hot springs, they have fire nation clothing."

"Two of you come with me, the rest of you stay here. Lead the way Corporal."

Maybe twenty minutes later the soldiers returned with and old man not wearing much of any clothes and shackled around his wrists. He had the same golden eyes that she did. And for some reason he looked familiar, she just couldn't think of why.

"Chain his feet together and starting packing, we're leaving." The leader commanded.

Lily's feet weren't chained together. This man must be dangerous. Or they just didn't know that she was a firebender too. The old man caught her eye and then he winked. Lily figured that meant he had a plan to escape… or that he was just a creepy old man. She hoped for the former.

* * *

The Earth Kingdom soldiers and their two prisoners had been riding ostrich-horses for probably an hour now. And it was getting hot out.

"Where are you taking us?" The old man asked.

"We're taking you to face justice."

"Right, but where, specifically?"

"A place you're quite familiar with, actually. You once laid siege to it for six-hundred days, but it would not yield to you."

"Ah, the great city of Ba Sing Se." So that's who he was, she remembered now. He was the great General Iroh, Dragon of the West and the Fire Lords brother.

"It was greater than you were, apparently."

"I acknowledge my defeat at Ba Sing Se. After six-hundred days away from home, my men were tired, and I was tired." Iroh yawned and said, "And I'm still tired." Then he fell off the back of his ostrich-horse.

Two of the soldiers picked him up and secured him back to his horse. They didn't notice the sandal that the General had left behind. He was leaving a trail, which meant someone was looking for him.

* * *

Lily was honestly bored out of her mind. And the soldier who she was riding behind had really bad body odor.

The old man cleared his throat to get Lily's attention.

"May I ask your name miss?"

"Lily."

"Miss Lily. What a lovely name. You know my wife's favorite flowers were lilies." Lily smiled at that.

"Are you from the Fire Nation?" He asked her curiously.

"This girl is a wanted criminal. She's going to Ba Sing Se just as you are, but I doubt her punishment will be as severe as yours. Now, no more talking." What a kill joy.

A sudden gasp from the old man caught Lily's attention. He was looking towards the sky with a shocked expression. She followed his gaze but saw nothing.

"What's the problem?"

"Nothing… Actually, there is a bit of a problem. My old joints are sore and aching, and these shackles are too loose."

"Too loose?"

"That's right. The cuffs move and jangle around and bump my wrists. It would help me if you tighten them so they wouldn't shake around so much."

"Very well. Corporal, tighten the prisoner's handcuffs." General Iroh winked at her again before using his firebending to heat his cuffs and burn the soldiers' hand. Lily had been trying to melt the link holding her own cuffs together for the past several minutes now. It was taking so long because she was trying to do it inconspicuously, and that was a little more difficult. Then Iroh startled her ostrich-horse with his firebending, knocking her off and breaking her cuffs at the same time. Lucky for her.

Iroh jumped over to the cliff, shooting more flames from his feet then rolled down the steep hill. So Lily ran down the road and into a forest. She made a line of fire in the earth between the forest and the soldiers as she ran into the trees.

"Get the girl! She ran back that way." Someone shouted. She could hear them running towards her, but she kept going.

Looking back, she could see two of the soldier gaining on her, they were just so much faster than her. She turned her head forward quickly and caught herself just in time. She would have fell off a cliff. And she couldn't tell what was at the bottom. She was trapped. Again. She was really getting sick of this.

"Nice try missy." They had caught up to her now and this time cuffed her hands behind her back. The soldier pushed her back toward the way they came.

"We got her sir."

When they got back, the old man was kneeling before a boulder with his hands chained to the top of it. Each of the soldiers behind her had one of their hands on one of her arms.

"He's too dangerous, Captain! We just can't just carry him to the Capital! We have to do something now!"

"I agree. He must be dealt with immediately and severely."

"These dangerous hands must be crushed." No…They wouldn't. She pulled against the soldiers holding her. The captain was earthbending a boulder over the Generals hands when it was kicked away by a teenage boy who looked to be around her age. This dark haired kid, who was wearing Fire Nation colors, broke Irohs' shackles with his heel. He then faced the earthbenders in a fighting stance. That's when she saw his scar.

"Excellent form, Prince Zuko." Wait, what? Why was the Prince here of all places. Where had he got that scar? Last time she saw him…was when they were both much younger and he definitely didn't have that scar. And he definitely had more hair. She was confused.

"You taught me well."

"Surrender yourselves. It's five against two. You're clearly outnumbered."

"Yeah, that's true, but you are clearly outmatched."

The two soldiers that were holding her had to let go to help fight the firebenders.

And Lily couldn't get her damn cuffs off to help. She felt a bit awkward just standing there trying to get her fingers at an angle where she could melt the metal but not burn herself. But, within seconds, the firebenders won.

"Now would you please put on some clothes?" The Prince complained.

"I am afraid they were destroyed by the Earth Kingdom soldiers. I have more on the ship." The Prince sighed dramatically, then looked at Lily for the first time. "Who are you?"

"Zuko why don't you help her out of those handcuffs before you question her."

"That's alright. I think I got it." She pulled on her cuffs and the softened metal gave way. Now she was just stuck with the actual cuffs around her wrists. But at least she could move freely now. All she had to do was use a small jet of fire from her fingertips to cut them and she was set. She glanced up when she was done at the other firebenders. They were both staring at her. Iroh looked a little impressed, Zuko just looked pissed.

"I guess that means you can interrogate me now." She said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Uncle we need to leave." Zuko ignored her. Jerk.

"Prince Zuko you are being rude."

"I don't care uncle. I've wasted a day looking for you. The avatar is getting farther away."

"The avatar? He's back?" The avatar hasn't been seen in a hundred years.

The prince and general shared a look. Then Zuko looked back toward her.

"Who are you?" I guess the interrogating was starting now.

"My name is Lily."

"Where are you from?"

"The Fire Nation."

"Obviously. What are you doing _here_?"

"I could ask _you_ the same question."

"You are from the Fire Nation, which makes me _your Prince. Now tell me why you are here_." Zuko was growling now. There was probably steam coming out of his ears.

"That's none of your damn business." Zuko seemed surprised at her response.

"ANSWER ME!"

"Why don't you MAKE ME?" He may be the prince, but she didn't care.

"Oh I'll make you." He seethed, fire appearing in his palms.

"I'd like to see that." She challenged, getting into her own fighting stance.

The air surrounding them had definitely rose in temperature. "That's _enough_, both of you." Iroh had put his hands up between the two. "Zuko, we are leaving. Lily, you can come with us if you would like." Wait, what?

"No, she can't." The prince argued. "She'll just get in the way! I need to find the avatar."

Lily didn't know what she was expecting, but it wasn't an invitation to join that hothead. "Is he always like that?" She whispered to Iroh.

"I heard that."

"Of course not! He's really kind deep down." Zuko scoffed.

Lily was thinking the same, "it must be _really_ deep down." Iroh laughed.

Oops…she didn't mean to say that out loud. But in all honesty, a change of pace would be nice. And if the prince was chasing the avatar, it sounded a lot more exciting than living in the woods.

"Fine, she can come. But she better not get in my way." The Prince said, the agitation apparent in his voice.

Somehow, all the firebenders fit onto the Komodo-Rhino that the Prince had used to follow them. Zuko jumped on first.

"I'll get on the back." Lily volunteered.

"No, you go behind Zuko. I don't want you to fall off." Iroh protested.

"I won't fall off."

"We aren't going anywhere until you get behind Zuko."

"But-."

"If you don't get on now, we're leaving without you." Zuko threatened.

"Fine you don't have to get so bossy, jeez."

"Apparently I do." Zuko replied back as Lily climbed on. Iroh, could barely climb on, Lily had to help him out. She didn't really want to touch Zuko, let alone hold onto his waist. But as soon as the Rhino took off, she had too. And Iroh had his own hands on her own waist, but that wasn't as disturbing as she thought it would be.

The trio had been traveling into the wee hours of the night when Zuko spotted something.

"Uncle, look." Zuko was pointing to these huge footprints in the ground. Lily had never seen anything with feet that big. Whatever made these footprints had been in the small village just down the road. They followed them to the gate.

"The avatars bison was here." Zuko jumped off the Rhino and proceeded to walk through the gates and into the village.

"Zuko, these people are probably still sleeping. At least wait till the sun is up."

"I don't have time to wait."

"Zuko, I think you should listen to Lily." But he didn't. He walked up to the building in the center of the town and bashed his fist on the door a few times. His uncle had followed with a sigh. Lily waited on the Rhino.

But she could hear everything they said. "Have you seen the avatar lately?"

"No, sir." The man who answered the door clearly just got out of bed, he was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"You LIE! I know these footprints belong to the avatars bison. Now, tell me where he is and I won't burn your village to the ground." Zuko threatened and pushed the man hard enough to knock him off-balance and to the floor.

"H-he went that way, I don't know where, but he said something about needing to speak to Roku. That's all I know, I swear." The man was literally shaking.

"Come on uncle, we're leaving." Zuko said, leaving the terrified man alone.

"Did you have to be so mean to the poor man?" Lily scolded the Prince when they returned to her.

"I got the information I needed much quicker that way." He said while hopping onto the front of the Komodo-rhino.

"But still."

"It's over and done with. What's the big deal?" Iroh began climbing on behind her.

"You're rude." She said flatly. Iroh chuckled.

"I don't have the patience to be kind." He huffed.

"Well you should."

"No one asked you." He said, defensively.

"Zuko, Lily is right. When you are Firelord, patience will be a necessity."

"Yea, well, it doesn't look like I'll be home, let alone the Firelord, anytime soon." He said, more to himself then to anyone else. After he said that, a not uncomfortable silence fell on the trio until they reached the harbor.

* * *

Lily wanted to ask why he had been banished and why he received his scar, but he was already in a foul mood and she didn't want to make it worse.

"Prince Zuko, we saw the avatar." Zuko's eyes brightened immensely.

"When? Where was he heading." He demanded.

"He was heading toward…"

"Toward?"

"Toward the Fire Nation, sir." Lily could see the wheels spinning in his eyes. If Zuko was caught in the Fire Nation…the consequences couldn't be good.

"Captain! Ready the ship. We are leaving as soon as possible." She guessed he didn't care about getting caught.

"Yes, Prince Zuko."

Now the big question here was, whether she should go on their ship with them. If she stayed, she would have to go back to her life living on the outskirts of towns, stealing and living off the land. And doing so would most likely wind her up back in jail.

Or, she could go on an adventure with the Fire Lord's brother and banished son who were tracking down the avatar for some reason. Said avatar, hasn't been seen or heard from in one hundred years.

Tough choice.

Or maybe, they would just leave her in the harbor. They had no use for her. She would just be another mouth to feed. Her doubts were quickly rising, the crew were hauling the rest of their recently bought goods and were preparing to set sail. Lily was standing on the pier watching. Zuko and Iroh had already boarded the ship.

But her doubts were quickly erased when Zuko said, "Are you coming or what?" From the gangway.

Her doubtful expression quickly changed to a toothy smile and she practically skipped up the wooden plank.

"Aren't you bringing anything with?" Zuko questioned. Most of her things were scattered around the forest. And they weren't worth going back to get.

"I have what I need with me." Zuko looked at her a bit puzzled, but didn't say another word.

"The ship is ready to set sail, sir."

"Let's go."

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Honestly, the reviews are awesome!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thank you thank you thank you for all the reviews, favs and follows everyone! This chapter took a while to write and I hope you like it!

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D: I only own my OC

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Zuko's warship left the harbor maybe an hour or two before noon. The crew went about their jobs, and Zuko disappeared. Probably to his room, Lily figured. And Lily felt out of place. She wasn't a member of the crew, nor did she know any of them. She didn't have anything to do nor did she know what to do with herself with all this free time. She was starving, but she didn't feel it was her place to ask for food. She was also exhausted. At least twenty-four hours had passed, she guess more though, since she had last rested.

General Iroh must have been thinking the same exact thing though because he called her over to him and showed her to the kitchen below deck.

"You look famished." He said as he spooned some stew into a bowl for her. "Starving." She agreed, her stomach growled loudly in confirmation. The generals' stomach made the same sound making Iroh laugh as he poured the steamy, lumpy liquid into his own bowl.

Then they both pulled out the wooden chairs that surrounded the small wooden table the chef used as a prep area.

"May I ask you a question, General?" Lily asked after eating a spoonful of stew. A delicious spicy stew. She hasn't had anything spicy in forever.

"Please, call me Iroh or Uncle Iroh. Whatever you wish."

"Errr… okay."

"And yes, ask away."

"Why did you ask me to join you?" She asked curiously.

"Oh…uh, for selfish reasons really." He seemed hesitant to explain that.

"Care to elaborate?" She prodded.

"You know how my nephew is-"

"Arrogant, selfish, rude and sometimes mean?"

"Exactly! He needs someone who will tell him when he's being too…hotheaded."

"You seem well grounded, couldn't you do that?"

"He doesn't listen to me." He said frustrated. Iroh and Lily had finished their soup.

"What makes you think he will listen to me?" She asked, placing the spoon in the bowl.

"He has already, haven't you seen it?"

"No?" He seemed like the type of prince who didn't listen to anyone.

"Unlike the crew, and the rest of the fire nation for that matter, you let him know when he's being…well-"

"Arrogant, selfish, rude and sometimes mean?" She repeated and began playing with the flames from the candles that lit the room.

"Yes, exactly. You have the backbone to stand up to his tantrums."

"If you think so." Lily sighed.

"I know so." He said confidently. But she wasn't convinced.

"Allow me to show you to your room. I am sure you must be tired." After they finished washing their bowls, Iroh led Lily towards her new quarters.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Lily and Iroh, Zuko had heard almost all of their conversation. The prince was going to get something to eat for himself when he had heard two voices already in the kitchens. Zuko was about to enter anyways but he heard his uncle mention his name and he decided to listen instead.

What his uncle said didn't really surprise him. But his temper flared and his fists clenched when the girl called him selfish, rude and something else. She didn't know what he's been through, why he has to capture the avatar. She didn't know _anything_.

Zuko heard the clinking and clattering of the dishes being washed and put away and took that as a signal they were done then quickly walked back up to the main deck to avoid being caught.

* * *

The general walked back up a flight of stairs to show Lily where the living quarters were. He pointed at the end of the hall where his room was and toward the middle where Zuko's was. Hers was diagonal from the princes. Iroh pushed the door open to reveal Lily's new home.

The room itself was decently sized and darkly lit. Iroh flicked small flames from his fingers towards the candles to light them. A small, twin sized bed rested against one wall. On either side were nightstands, and along the opposite wall was a dresser. Not much, but more than she was used to.

The general had left, telling her she should get some rest. Lily tested out the bed by falling into the mattress and shoving her face into the pillow. Way comfier than a lumpy earth floor as a bed, she thought before quickly fell asleep. Her face still mashed into the pillow.

* * *

Her nap was disrupted what seemed like five minutes later. In reality it had been an hour later. Years ago, she would have been able to sleep through it, but now she was a light sleeper. There was shouting on the main deck; something it seemed like she would be getting accustomed too in the next few days.

Lily meandered her way down the hall and up the steps until she was blinded by the brightness of the sun. She shaded her eyes to see what was causing the ruckus.

Prince Zuko was at the front of the ship looking through a telescope. His uncle was standing behind him with his arms across his chest.

"Of all the foolish things you've done in your sixteen years, this is the most foolish." Iroh didn't like the idea of sailing into fire nation waters, for some reason. But the prince ignored his uncle.

"There they are. Helmsman, full steam ahead." Zuko then called for the catapult to be brought on deck. As the crew loaded it, they began pouring this awful smelling liquid onto it.

"Really prince Zuko, couldn't you shoot them down with something more fragrant?"

"On my mark, fire!" The catapult released the giant rock, sending it spinning towards the avatar. Narrowly missing him.

"Uh oh." That's when they saw it.

"A blockade."

"Technically we are still in earth kingdom waters, turn around now and they cannot arrest you." The prince's uncle reasoned with his nephew.

Surely the avatar would not fly through the blockade, there was a very small chance they would make it passed unscathed.

"He's not turning around."

"Please prince Zuko, if the fire nation captures you, there is nothing I can do."

"I'm sorry uncle. Run the blockade."

Suddenly, the ships creating the blockade released their own catapults. The projectiles nearly hit the avatars flying bison, one of them _did_ hit the back of their own ship.

"Prince Zuko, the engines are damaged, we need to stop and make repairs." The engineer shouted from the rear of the ship.

"Do not stop this ship." Zuko ordered.

Lily glided over next to the prince to get a closer look at the upcoming ships.

Uh oh…._That_ ship. Surely it wasn't _that_ ship. Lily quickly rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. But when she reopened them and saw her father's ship ahead she felt sick to her stomach.

"Prince Zuko you have to turn around."

"We are not turning around." He said without looking away from his spyglass.

"Zuko, _please_." She begged. The plea in her voice caught his attention and he finally looked away from the sky to look at the petrified girl next to him. Gone was the strong, fierce girl he thought he knew.

"Turn around." She pleaded with him.

"I can't."

"Zuko we are on a collision course." Iroh shouted.

"We can make it."

Lily began pacing rather quickly. Her anxiety was increasing with the decreasing distance between her and her father.

What could he do? Her father was on a completely different ship. But what if he stopped them? He could take her back to his ship if he really wanted to. Flashes of being locked in a room, or worse a cell, clouded her vision.

Or maybe her fears were pointless. Maybe her father actually missed her and would welcome her back. Not that she would go back. He was just so unpredictable. And that's what made him terrifying.

She could see him. Not his face or anything yet. Just his silhouette. She couldn't tell if he was looking at her or even saw her yet. Lily shifted uneasily, the two ships directly ahead of them had stopped moving. They were letting us pass.

Lily looked back toward her father, she could finally make out his face. He looked different…older. His hair was starting to gray and the lines on his face were a little deeper. But he still looked like her father. He was standing with his hands folded behind his back, this was probably his favorite stance from what she could remember.

He was looking at Zuko as though he was trying to read his thoughts, trying to figure out his plan. But Zuko kind of made it up as he went along.

Then Zhao saw her. Multiple emotions flickered in his eyes. Confusion, recognition, relief, and finally anger. His brow furrowed and his fists clenched. He was pissed. And that's all that she saw because the ships quickly passed him.

"What was that?" Zuko asked Lily.

What was what?" She said innocently.

"Why was Zhao giving you such a weird look?" Well. She could either lie or just tell him outright. She wondered how he would react.

"He's my dad."

"…Commander Zhao is you father?" He sounded shocked.

"I think I just said that."

"Lieutenant, arrest her." Wait, what?"

"Why are you arresting me?" She asked incredulously. Two of the crew had grabbed her arms. But Zuko didn't answer her. She knew she should have lied. The truth always gets her in trouble. She was grumbling to herself as she was led down some stairs and into a small cell. After the two crewmembers had walked away, she let out a fire blast of frustration. For once, couldn't her life be easy?

Shouting from the deck above her caught her attention. Zuko and Iroh were fighting about something, she couldn't hear what.

* * *

"What's he up to uncle? Why didn't Commander Zhao arrest me?"

"Because he wants to follow you. He knows you'll lead him to the prize your both after. The avatar."

"If Zhao wants to follow our trail of smoke. Then that's exactly what I'll let him do." Iroh could see the plan hatching in his nephews' eyes.

The prince called for one of the smaller boats to be put into the water and he climbed in when it was ready.

"Uncle keep heading north, Zhao will follow the smoke trail while I use it as a cover." Iroh wasn't so sure this plane would work. His expression showed his discomfort.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lily was busing letting off some steam in her cell. She was tired and very cranky. And she was pretending that the empty water bucket on the floor outside her cell was Zuko's head. She had sent so many fireballs at it that the metal had crusted and turned black. Stupid Zuko. Stupid dad. Stupid ship. Stupid stupid stupid. Every time she said stupid, another blast of flame exploded from her hand. Thankfully the ship was made of metal or it would have probably burned down by now. She tired herself out after a while, and she unceremoniously plopped down on the small bench with a thud.

Lily let out a hot sigh. She had already tried getting out. But whatever metal material that the bars were made of must have been reinforced or something because she couldn't get it hot enough to manipulate and break out. She was trapped, again. The past few days felt like that was all she was doing. And she hated it. She hadn't felt this way since she was living on her father's ship.

She let her head fall back against the bars and sighed. She was beyond tired, maybe a nap would do her good. It's not like there was anything else to do.

* * *

Back on the main deck, Iroh had greatly slowed the speed of the ship. He couldn't tell if Zhao had followed him or if Zhao had someone spotted the prince through the smoke and figured out their little plan to deceive him.

The general looked back at the gray smoke still rolling out of the engines while stroking his beard. At this speed, Zhao surly would have caught up to them by now. The retired fire nation leader glanced back towards the direction where Zuko was heading and could barely make out his small boat out of the waves.

"Lieutenant." Iroh called.

"Yes sir?"

"Follow the prince's boat." Iroh was concerned that his nephew would be caught by Zhao, and wanted to be there to prevent that from happening.

"Yes sir."

"And pick up the speed if you can."

"I'm sorry sir, this is fast as we can go. We are running on the backup engines." The general sighed. There was nothing more he could do. His thoughts wandered to the teenage girl who was below deck in a cell. Then he too wandered down the stairs to check on her.

She was sleeping. Her dark brown hair cascaded down hiding her face. Zuko had assumed the worse when he found out that commander Zhao was the girl's father, and imprisoned her. Iroh let his nephew know that he did _not_ agree with that decision before he left.

Iroh himself was shocked at the discovery. This girl became more interesting by the minute. He didn't even know Zhao was married, let alone had a daughter.

Next to the cell, Iroh noticed a mop bucket that looked like someone used it for target practice. _Someone_ had a temper tantrum, something that his nephew would do.

General Iroh walked back to the main deck and left Lily to get some sleep. She needed it.

Once he was on the main deck, Iroh spotted a ship, Zhaos ship, floating just off Shore of Crescent Island. Avatar Roku's temple was built at the highest point of the small piece of land. The new avatar must need to speak to his past life, Iroh thought.

The ship sailed closer to the island, everyone must have been in the temple because the island itself was empty.

"General, should we drop anchor and-" Lieutenant Lee was cut off when the island shook and rumbled.

"No, I think we should be ready to depart as soon as my nephew returns." The general wanted to get out of the fire nation waters as quickly as possible.

"Yes sir." At that, Zuko came bolting out of the temple doors and ran for his boat, pushed it back into the water from the sand and directed it towards his ship.

"What happened nephew? Are you alright?" Iroh asked the teenager once he was safely on board.

"I'm fine," He snapped. "Get us out of here."

"Gladly. Lieutenant, make a course for the nearest harbor outside of the fire nation. We can make repairs there." Lee left to do as commanded.

"Is the girl still in her cell?"

"Yes, but-"

"Good, keep her there until I saw otherwise."

"But prince Zuko, don't you think-"

"I'm tired, I'm going to bed." Zuko walked away, moodily. General Iroh sighed.

* * *

The next morning Lily woke up feeling refreshed. But she was still in the cell, alone. And also stiff, she stood up and stretched her muscles. Then she growled. Memories of the previous day flooded her mind and made her anger rise exponentially. She wanted out. Now.

Lily inhaled then used fire from her palms to surround herself with flames. She spun the fire around her in a sphere faster and faster, then sent it flying in all direction with a loud bang that shook the ship.

Her little stunt was meant for the noise, nothing was damaged. And she knew it had worked when she heard shouts, doors slamming and footsteps running to investigate the deafening noise that she had created.

"What in the hell was that?" She heard Zuko exclaim. Lee, Iroh, Zuko and the engineer came stampeding down the stairs. Zuko looked like he had just woken up. Actually, it looked like they were all still half asleep.

The floor, ceiling, everything within the reach of the blast had darkened in color.

"What was that?" The engineer asked, looking around for the source of the explosion. None of them say anything that could have caused it. Only an unharmed teenage girl standing in a cell with her hands on her hips, glaring at them.

"You did that?" Zuko asked, surprised.

"Did what?" She played innocent.

"Make that explosion?"

"Maybe."

Lee and the engineer left when they concluded that no one and nothing was harmed and the ship was fine. Iroh stayed, fascinated to see what would happen next. And also to stop them if they started yelling at each other again.

"Are you going to let me out or what?"

"No."

"I didn't do anything." She argued.

"You're Zhao's daughter, you could be here to spy on us."

"You really are crazy." He turned around to go back to bed.

"Zuko wait!"

"Why?"

"I haven't seen my father in two years." She confessed. He stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn around. "I ran away when I was fourteen." She could see his tensed up shoulders drop, then he turned around.

Zuko walked back towards the cell and looked directly into her eyes and asked, "How do I know you aren't lying?" His eyes tightened suspiciously.

"You don't. But if you let me out, I'll tell you everything."

Zuko folded his arms over his chest, thinking. His golden eyes never left her own. "Fine." He grabbed the keys from the hook to unlock her cell door. Before he turned the key he glanced back at the girl, judging if he was making the right choice by letting her out.

He turned the key.

* * *

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